


Undercover Christmas

by AndroidTrash800



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous Hank Anderson and Connor Relationship, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Party, Comedy, Connor as an elf, Crime Drama, Crime Fighting, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Explicit Language, F/F, Fluff, Gavin and RK900 are anything but ambiguous, Hank dressed as Santa Claus, M/M, Other, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), RK900 is called Nines, Suggestive Themes, Undercover Missions, but only in the first chapter, some wholesome Christmas cliches, this is meh but whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-18 10:52:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16993674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndroidTrash800/pseuds/AndroidTrash800
Summary: Right before Christmas, Connor, Hank, RK900, and Gavin go undercover at a shopping mall with Hank portraying jolly Santa Claus himself. The gang gets together on Christmas Eve for holiday cheer and gift exchanges.





	1. Christmas Eve Eve

**Author's Note:**

> What can I say, I like holiday fics. I also wrote a [D:BH One Shot for Halloween](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16475663) (this Xmas fic isn't nearly as meme filled, but it's still on the light-hearted side.)  
> The plot in chapter 1 is inspired after the TV episode "Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa."

It was the day before Christmas Eve 2039. The Detroit shopping mall was bustling with last-minute Christmas shoppers devouring that years hottest gifts like vultures picking a carcass clean. Everything was decorated from the floor to the ceiling in Christmas decor. A tall tree with twinkling lights and ornaments was placed at the center near "Santa's Workshop" meet and greet.

It was one of the last places Gavin Reed wanted to be at right now, but he had little choice or say in the matter.

He was in the mall's security room that was currently being taken over by the DPD. Several officers were monitoring the security cameras and preparing for the mission. They were after an elusive mob boss who'd become impossible to find right after they finally had enough evidence to arrest him. Some inside info was that his wife and daughter visited this mall every year on Christmas Eve Eve to see Santa Claus. Their mission was to find out where the mob boss was currently hiding out via his daughter.

Which is why Hank Anderson was in the security room currently dressed as Santa Claus, fumbling with his costume while Connor was finishing attaching and concealing his lavalier mic. Connor was also in disguise, dressed as an elf complete with pointy ears and a hat with a dangling jingle bell on the end.

"I can't believe I have to do this shit," Hank grumbled.

"You're the best human in the precinct that most closely resembles Kris Kringle," Connor reminded him.

Gavin snickered, "Yeah, that's cause he's the _oldest_ in the precinct."

Hank shot him a glare, "Shut the fuck up, Reed, or I'll stuff your ass into this red suit and you can do it."

Tina Chen was among the officers inside the security room. She eavesdropped in on their conversation, "I'd pay to see that. Gavin would make a terrible Santa."

"Not much worse than Hank." Gavin rolled his eyes. How was it that Detroit's two most ill-behaved and fowl-mouthed cops were the ones recommend to portray jolly Saint Nick?

"Hey, I'm going to be a fucking great Santa compared to you." Hank defended.

Connor grimaced slightly, "I'm sure you will, Lieutenant, just remember not to swear in front of the children.

"I'm not a fucking-... I mean, yeah I know that, Connor. I know how to hold my tongue when I need to."

One of the two security room doors opened and Nines slipped inside. He was wearing casual human attire to blend in with the rest of the population. Of course he chose to wear a turtle neck. It was dark blue in color and worn a long, tan coat to compliment it. Both he and Connor had removed their LED's to appear more human.

Along with Hank and Connor, Nines and Gavin were a part of the undercover mission, posing as just regular mall shoppers to keep an eye on Santa and his elf and their targets.

"All surveillance equipment is up and functioning." The RK900 announced, "How is progress going in here?"

"Hank and I are ready." Connor announced, standing straight in his green and red elf costume.

"Gavin," Tina held up a lavalier mic and mic pack towards him, "you still aren't mic'd yet."

Reed reached for the device, but Nines beat him to it, taking it from her while saying, "Honestly, detective. You had one thing to do while I was gone and you couldn't even do that." His tone was scolding, but his underlying affection softened the blow.

Gavin pouted at Nines as the android attached the mic pack to his jeans, hiding it underneath the human's jacket and t-shirt. "I can do it myself, tincan. I'm not a child."

Nines hummed sarcastically, "And yet you still act like one." When he finished attaching the small mic to Gavin's shirt, he leaned in close, his lips barely brushing his human's ear. He whispered to him at a volume below what anyone else in the room could hear or the mic could pick-up, "Maybe you'll behave if spank you."

Color matching Hank's suit immediately rose in Reed's cheeks, and he stifled an embarrassing noise when RK900 gave a playful smack to his ass.

"Jesus Christ, can you two stop flirting," Hank groaned.

"Just stop watching us, old man!" Gavin bit back.

"Hard to do that when you're three feet away from me, you dumb prick."

"Sorry, 'Santa.' I guess you'll just have to put me on the _naughty list_."  
"You were born on the naughty list."

"You got that right."

Nines and Connor shot each other a look that could be described as _I can't believe we chose to put up with these two particular humans out of all the humans in the world_.

"It's five till." Connor announced. "We need to get in position."

"He's right," Nines turned back to Gavin and straightened the grumpy human's jacket. "We should go out first and blend in with the crowd."

Gavin nodded. He fitted a discrete ear piece in his ear as the final touch and Nines ushered him out of the security room.

Now alone—well aside for the half a dozen other officers in the room—Connor turned to Hank. "Are you sure you're up for this Lieutenant? If you really don't feel-"

"Yes, Con. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried."

Hank let out incredulous huff, "You're worried. I can tell." To confirm his claim, Connor's face had scrunched up minutely and he looked deep in thought. Hank gave him a reassuring smile, "Trust me, I wouldn't have gotten dressed up into this fucking thing if I wasn't willing to. Now come on, little elf. Don't want to keep the kids waiting."

\--

Connor and Nines being able to communicate with each other, and the other DPD officers in the security room, without speaking out loud made them efficient players in undercover missions.

 _"We're in position."_ Nines wirelessly said to Connor and the others. Him and Gavin were among the crowd of people. Nines was carrying a shopping bag from a store they were standing nearby.

 _"We're coming out now."_ Connor informed right before he came out behind the Santa meet and greet area to a line of children and parents waiting to see Santa Claus.

RK800 put on a bright smile as he announced, "Welcome children, to Santa's Workshop! Now who's ready to see Santa Claus?"

Enthusiastic cheers and sayings of "Me! Me! Me!" by the kids could probably be heard from across the mall.

Watching far afar, Gavin had to stifle a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Nines quirked a brow at him.

Gavin let a out a chuckle, "Nothing. I'm just finding it hard to imagine _you_ doing that."

"I am a little too tall to be an elf."

"Connor's too tall to be an elf too, dipshit. I'm talking about- ah fuck. Never mind." Gavin shook his head, trying not to laugh again as he thought about Nines coming out with a deadpan greeting to the kids while dressed as an elf.

Hank came out as Santa and was met with even more enthusiastic children screams. He gave a wave and a jolly, "Ho, ho, ho," before sitting down in the chair designated for him. It was complete with Christmas decorations surrounding it to make an appealing backdrop for photos.

Connor announced instructions to the parents and children before the first child was brought over to 'Santa.'

Nines scanned the area for their targets. No sign of them so far. "Come." He ordered Gavin to walk with him down through the mall so they didn't seem suspicious standing in one place watching the Santa meet and greet for a lengthy amount of time.

"I'd love to." Gavin snickered and began walking with him. "You know, I'm not into the whole Santa thing, but I'd love to sit on your lap tonight."

"I'm sure you would." Nines' focus was trained ahead, scanning people's faces for the humans they were looking for.

"I wonder what you do to the people on your naughty list," Gavin waggled his eyebrows, forgetting their mission entirely for a moment. "I know you'll do more than just put a lump of coal in my stocking. I bent you'll bend me over and-"

"Detective, you are aware that everyone on the task force can hear you right now, right?"

Gavin's face went white with shock, then red with embarrassment.

Meanwhile, within the confides of the security room, Tina was howling with laughter. She pressed a button on the control panel which carried her voice to the device in Gavin's ear, "No, no keep going, Gav! We want to hear more!"

"Shut the fuck up, Tina." Gavin growled into his hidden mic. He shut his dumb mouth up after that and tried to remain focused on their mission and be more professional like his boyfriend.

\--

At the meet and greet, Hank was actually a pretty good Santa. He put on a smile and a jolly attitude as he asked children what they wanted for Christmas, then posed with them as their parents or guardian would take photos. He inwardly cringed at the fact that the a lot of the gifts children asked for were the latest digital tablets or cell phones or whatever else latest tech thing was out. He remembered when he was a kid and had begged for G.I. Joe action figures and Pokemon cards for Christmas. At least some of the kids that met him still asked for toys and a few even had more selfless wishes of a family member being home for the holiday or being in good health.

Overall, it was a surprisingly nice experience. Connor seemed to be enjoying it as well, although Hank could tell half his attention was entirely dedicated towards the mission. It was like the android was going back and forth between several browser tabs in his brain.

Hank's confidence in his undercover facade faltered for the first time when a six-year old boy that reminded him a lot of Cole was next to sit on his lap. The dull ache in his heart got worse upon finding out the kid's name was Cody and that he wanted a dinosaur for Christmas. Cole loved dinosaurs too.

After Cody had his photo taken and left with his father, Connor went over to Hank to whisper, "Lieutenant? Are you alright?" Of course, despite having to stay focused on the mission and supervising a hoard of kids and parents, Connor still somehow managed to keep track of the slightest changes in Hank.

Anderson nodded, but his voice cracked, "Yeah. Yeah. I'm good."

"Do you need to take a break?"

Hank swallowed down the ache of grief. He wished he had some scotch to aid in dulling it down, but Connor had helped him with coping and resisting for that solution to be his first resort anymore. "Thanks, Con., but I'll be okay for now."

Like always, Connor still looked concerned, but he left his side to let the next kid see Santa Claus.

\--

Nines and Gavin had made their way to the second story of the mall to get a bird's eye view of the masses of people down below.

Nines was continually scanning, Gavin was leaning up against the path barrier as he peered down at the mass of shoppers below.

Gavin discretely muffled the small mic with his hand for a moment to say, "Nines, would you be mad if I didn't get you something for Christmas?"

RK900 faltered in his scan to look over at him, "I don't think now is an appropriate time for that conversation." Nines looked back down at the people below. He hesitated a moment, then severed his connection with Connor and the task force so that only Gavin heard what he said next, "But no. I wouldn't be. While the concept of gift giving is enduring, I don't require anything. Besides, I already have everything I want."

A warm feeling spread from Gavin's core. He was still weary of showing PDA with his android boyfriend, but he didn't think anyone would notice him letting his hand fall to the side to lace his fingers with Nines'. He hoped the squeeze he gave his hand was enough to convey what he was thinking.

A tiny smile crossed RK900's lips. He reactivated his wireless connection and resumed scanning.

About five minutes later, Nines quietly announced to Gavin and the rest of the team that he spotted their target. The mother and daughter of the mob boss got in line to meet Santa.

Reed and RK900 headed back down to the lower level of the mall. By the time the girl and her mother reached Hank, Gavin and Nines were on alert close-by. Officers in the security room leaned in closer to the monitors. Even Connor looked tense. Surprisingly, Hank looked the most relaxed out of all of them.

"Ho, ho, ho there little one," Hank smiled as the 8 year-old girl with pigtails and pink framed glasses climbed onto his knee. It was difficult to imagine that she was the child of one of the most notorious mob bosses in Detroit. "What's your name?"

"Isla." She grinned.

"Oh Isla, of course. And what is it that you want for Christmas?"

"A pony! A black and white one!"

"Ho ho ho. A pony it is, but Isla, I'm going to need a big favor from you. Do you think you can help dear Santa out?" Isla nodded and Hank continued, "I'd like to deliver a present to your dad too, but I've been having trouble finding him. Do you know where he's living right now?"

It was the moment everyone had been waiting for. Every officer in the security room went dead silent. Connor was ridged as he listened in.

Isla thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Wonderful. Can you tell me where?"

She nodded again and began describing to Hank where she believed her father was living. She didn't know the exact address, but she was able to describe some land markers and different places that helped the team in the security room pinpoint the area where the mob boss had been hiding.

Gavin had his attention drawn to Hank and Isla. Nines was keeping an eye on the surrounding area and he was the first to spot that the mob boss they were looking for was there in the mall. He was trying to blend in among the crowd of shoppers, but Nines spotted him by how he too was watching Isla with 'Santa.'

Nines was quick to wirelessly alert Connor and the others. He told them his plan to attack from the rear and Connor from the front and any other nearby officers to engage after Nines and Connor had a grasp on their target.

"Stay here." Nines ordered quietly to Gavin before he casually walked off towards the mob boss, but he stayed off to the side so it appeared that he was aiming towards somewhere else.

_"Get ready, Connor."_

_"I'm on it."_

Before Nines got where he wanted however, the mob boss caught wind and another man who was with him, presumably some kind of bodyguard, noticed too. He began waving the mob boss to move out, away from the Santa meet-and-greet area. Away from Connor and Nines.

Nines quickened his pace and could make out the bodyguard saying something about cops being there. Being closer now he was also able to detected that they were both carrying. This changed things.

 _"He's trying to leave."_ Nines warned, _"They're armed."_

 _"Let them go. If you corner them they may fire."_ The last thing they wanted was any innocent lives to get hurt.

Nines pulled back, acting like he was pursuing something entirely different instead.

Hank was finishing up talking to Isla and Connor signaled to him that they were going to stay low. Keep up the facade. Connor chose to stay with Hank as well to not seem like either of them were involved.

Gavin had been listening in, but the mob boss was getting out of sight from where he was standing, so he started to head towards him to get a better visual. Apparently he was not quite as subtle in his movements as he thought he was being.

The bodyguard saw him and suddenly him and the mob boss were making a break for it.

 _"Shit, Gavin I told you to stay!"_ Nines voice crackled in Gavin's ear piece.

Fortunately, the perps were rounding a corner to exit the mall through a back-way. This gave Nines the chance to pursue them with a low chance of them pulling their weapons in the midst of the crowds.

Gavin followed suit, pushing past confused shoppers as they watched the sudden chase break out.

Nines must have caught a glance of him before he rounded the corner as he ordered, _"Gavin, stand down!"_

"Fuck you, tincan! You're not getting all the action without me!" They were partners after all. Two against two was a better advantage.

Nines pursued the men down a concrete hallway in the back of the mall, behind all the stores. "Detroit Police! Stop and put your hands where I can see them!" He barked at the two men and raised his service pistol at them.

The two men stopped. They had no where to go except for an EXIT door about twenty feet in front of them which lead outside.

"Put your hands where I can see them." Nines repeated, ready to shoot.

He heard Gavin's footsteps coming up from behind him. _"Dammit, Gavin."_

The bodyguard suddenly turned, raising his gun at Nines and Gavin who just appeared around the corner.

Nines didn't hesitate to shoot the man in the shoulder. The bodyguard's gun went off un-aimed and ricocheted against the concrete wall before the pain in his shoulder forced him to drop the weapon completely.

In that time, the bodyguard's body covered for the mob boss as he made his escape out the door.

Before Nines could pursue him, Gavin jumped forward, pushing past Nines and the bodyguard, heading straight out after their target. Gavin didn't even register exactly what Nines had yelled out after him. He was too focused on catching their perp.

When Gavin got outside, the mob boss had his own gun out and ready, pointing it at the detective. Gavin froze.

"Drop the gun." The man said to him.

Reed had no choice but to comply with the barrel of another pointed in the direction of his head.

"Are you fucking cops after my, daughter, huh?" The mob boss asked him.

"No, we're after you, dipshit." Because Gavin still had to be an asshole in situations where it could get him killed.

"Leave my wife and daughter out of this."

Then a feminine voice cut through the air, "Drop the gun right now, asshole, or I'll decorate my Christmas tree with your guts." Low and behold, Tina had come from behind, her weapon trained on the mob boss's back.

Chris was beside her and the footsteps of other officers could be heard coming near.

The man kept his gun on Gavin, "If you shoot, I shoot him too. But what's one more dead cop in this city, huh?"

It was a stand off with Gavin's life on the line. Reed tried to remain calm, but his heart was beating wildly in his chest and his fingers trembled at his sides. His body didn't even register how cold it was outside of the mall. He wondered where the hell Nines was. He thought he was going to be right behind him.

"Shoot him, Tina," Gavin encouraged, not because he was suicidal, but because he didn't like playing this waiting game. If he moved fast enough, he could miss getting shot completely or only get grazed. It was mostly a matter of timing and gauging when the mob boss would shoot him.

Tina looked at her friend over the other man's shoulder. They exchanged a look before she gave a quick nod.

Two gunshots rang out. One quickly following the first.

Gavin dived down as quickly as he could, hitting the icy ground. It was only when he looked back up that he realized what had happened.

The mob boss was no longer holding his gun and one of his hands was bleeding. But who could have...

He followed his eyes to the tall, stylish looking android that was in the parking lot behind the mall. His service weapon was raised, pointed at where the perp's had been. Nines had went out another way of the mall after he realized that going out the same door behind Gavin heightened the chances of his human getting fatally shot.

Nines made the first shot. The second shot had been from Tina, mostly on reflex thinking that the mob boss had shot at Gavin. It left an un-fatal wound to the man's back, but it still had to of hurt like a bitch.

After the brief initial shock, other officers that had arrived were quick to arrest the mob boss and move him away.

"You okay, Tina?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," She took a breath, but didn't look too phased. "Gav, you okay?"

Gavin struggled up off the icy concrete—the impact he took falling down onto it didn't feel good, but he doubted it would even leave any bruises. "I'm good." The pain was gone the moment he saw Nines coming towards him and he grinned, "Hey, nice shot ba-"

A slap was suddenly landed on his cheek. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to sting a little. The shock of it hurt the worst. "What the fuck, Nines!"

"I wondered if that would knock some sense into you." Nines frowned at him, "You're a fucking idiot. I told you to stand down. You could have gotten seriously injured."

"So could've you," Gavin prickled. They've had this fight before. It was getting exhausting.

"You could have gotten others in danger too because of your stubborn attitude."

"Oh, fuckin' lay off it. It ended up fine. We got the guy. Everyone's fine."

"This time. But what about next time?"

Fortunately, Hank and Connor came out from the mall and interrupted the conversation before it could escalate. He was still dressed as Santa and Connor as an Elf.

"What the hell happened?" Hank asked as he looked around at the scene before him. The mob boss and bodyguard were in handcuffs and led to a paramedics vehicle that had just arrived. Nines and Gavin were arguing about whatever-the-fuck with Tina and Chris awkwardly listening in. "I fucking missed everything!"

"That might have been for the better." Connor said, no doubt getting some details wirelessly from Nines.

Nines gave Gavin a parting glare, before retreating to the other officers to fill them in on what went down.

"The fuck's wrong with you two?" Hank asked Gavin.

"Nothing," Gavin grumbled.

Tina shrugged, "They'll work it out. Gavin almost got shot."

"Then Tina swooped in and kept me from getting shot."

Chris added in, "It was pretty terrifying. I think you were more calm than I was, Chen."

"Oh shucks. I don't know about that."

Gavin asked, "How the hell did you two even make it out here so fast?"

"We were watching the surveillance cameras and Nines sent us your exact location."

"Oh."

"I'm surprised that guy didn't shoot you yet with you being a dick and all." Tina playfully nudged Gavin with her elbow, trying to lighten his mood.

"What, you think I'm going to turn off being a dick just because I got a gun pointed at me? Nah. Not my style, T. I go down fightin'."

Eventually they all filled Connor and Hank in on what exactly happened and the excitement died down. Chris left, but Tina and Gavin stuck around.

"You're all still coming over tomorrow, right?" Hank asked them. Chris had already declined the offer to spend Christmas Eve at Hank's, as he was going to spend it with his wife and son.

Tina grinned, "Wouldn't miss it! Stacy's coming for sure too." Stacy was an ST300 android receptionist at the station and also Tina's girlfriend.

"Ugh. Do I have to?" Gavin groaned like a spoiled child at Hank."I get enough of you and puppy-eyed robo cop every day."

"Yes." Connor answered and was the one who orchestrated the little get together in the first place. "And Nines already told me that if you don't go he'll... well I don't want to repeat what he said, but I'm sure he'll tell you."

That couldn't be good and after what happened today, he was already on thin ice with his boyfriend. "Fine," Gavin gave in. "We'll be there."

"Excellent!" Connor beamed.

"Yeah," Hank didn't look nearly as enthusiastic, "great." He didn't want Gavin coming over anymore than Gavin did, but they were both willing to put up with each other to please their androids.


	2. Christmas Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets together on Christmas Eve for holiday cheer and gift exchanges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of lost my motivation half-way through this, so I may be reducing this fic to just these two chapters.   
> The last chapter is just some short Reed900 fluff though, so I'll see.

It was Christmas Eve. It had snowed that early morning, leaving a blanket of white on everything, adding to the holiday spirit.

Connor was busy preparing for their little Christmas Eve party in Hank's home all morning. He made sure the decorations were perfect, and by the time the afternoon rolled around, he began preparations for the dinner he was making for their guests. It was funny to think that CyberLife's famous deviant hunter enjoyed decorating for the holidays and doing domestic tasks such as making meals for his human friends.

He was very excited to celebrate the holiday with the friends he's made at the DPD this year. Connor had spent Christmas with Hank and Sumo last year and loved it to pieces. This year he made it more extravagant. A large, perfectly decorated tree stood in the living room. Lights and garland made Hank's normally dreary looking house festive and vibrant. Christmas music was playing softly in the background (any louder and Hank would start complaining.)

RK800 was wearing a "ugly Christmas sweater" and a Santa hat. He had bestowed Sumo a festive red collar with jingle bells and convinced Hank to wear a sweater as well, but his wasn't nearly as gody as the android's. Hank's was a gray and dark blue Nordic style sweater which complimented his personality and his cobalt eyes.

"Jesus, Con. There's only going to be six of us. Half of which don't even eat," Hank commented on Connor's already extravagant amount of food he had begun cooking.

"You can eat the leftovers tomorrow then," Connor smiled and Hank couldn't argue with that logic.

"You have a point. Sumo might beat me to it though." The giant Saint Bernard was hungrily watching Connor's every move in the kitchen, the bells on his collar jingling softly with every movement of his head.

"You'll get some later, Sumo," Connor assured, giving him a pat on the head before returning to his task at hand.

A little while later, Tina and Stacy arrived. Tina brought a bottle of wine and a bag of gifts for the gift exchange they were going to have later. They were both a little festive: Stacy with holly earrings and Tina with a necklace of holiday lights that lite up.

"Welcome! Merry Christmas!" Connor ushered them in, "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, robocop," Tina smiled. She usually spent Christmas Eve with her family, but they were celebrating out of state this year and she wanted to stay in Detroit with Stacy.

Upon entering, Stacy admired the hard work Connor put into decorating the house, "Your tree is so pretty! There's so many lights and ornaments. Ours has only about half that much."

This quickly lead to Connor conversing with Stacy about the various decorations he used and pointed out some special ornaments on the tree that were Hank's he had found in the attic.

Tina and Hank bonded over talking about their favorite wines. Hank didn't drink like he used to, staying away from the hard liquor from Connor's persuasion. He still enjoyed a glass of wine or beer here and there however.

Gavin and Nines arrived later than the agreed upon time, but they were finally there nonetheless. RK900 was wearing a turtleneck again, but this one had a snowflake pattern. Gavin worn his typical clothes, the only difference was a red scarf he had wrapped around his neck to combat the cold.

The air was tense between the couple, but Nines put on a smile as he greeted Connor at the door. His human was sour-faced about the whole thing, despite carry a six pack of his favorite beer. They too had brought their gifts and Connor put them under the Christmas tree with the others.

Sumo was happy about the new additions to the household. Nines and Stacy were more than happy to pet the fluffy beast while Connor told them the latest stories about the dog. It was funny how the androids gravitated towards animals like moths to a lamp.

While Hank went to check on the food in the oven, Tina noticed her friend sulking and mingled over to him. "Hey, Gav. How's it going?"

"Shitty."

"Come on. It's Christmas Eve. Lighten up."

Gavin's eyes fleeted to Nines and Tina got the gist.

"You two are still worked up over yesterday?"

"Yeah. Normally we just have angry sex and are over it by now, but Nines is really making me suffer this time."

"Did you tell him you were sorry?"

"No."

"Gavin."

"What? I was doing my job."

"You're so dense." She sighed and shook her head like he was the most hopeless case in the world. "He's just worried about you."

"I know that."

"Then stop being a big doofus and talk to him about it. You're killing the mood having your panties all in a wad." She poked him in the shoulder and he pouted in response. "Or just sulk in the corner. Whatever you want."

Tired of Gavin's typical Gavin bullshit, she left him for the kitchen.

"They're both such idiots, Stace," Tina sighed to her girlfriend as she poured herself a glass of wine.

"Detective Reed and Nines?"

Tina nodded, "Boys and their inability to talk about their feelings. I hope we're not like that."

"I can't imagine we are." Stacy gave her a reassuring half-hug. "I've notice at the station they sometimes need to be... persuaded to get over themselves. Usually by Captain Fowler or Lieutenant-, ah, Hank." She was the last one of the group to get used to calling everyone by less formal names outside of work. It was a hard habit to break, having to always be so polite and formal to everyone as she was made to be, but she was slowly getting there. Tina especially helped her learn to let loose more often.

"Do you have something in mind?"

Stacy looked away thoughtfully then slowly grinned, "Yes I do. We're going to need some help from Connor though."

\--

It came time for dinner. Hank was already sitting at the table, ready to eat the moment his plate hit the tabletop. Stacy was also at the table as she waited for Tina to join her after Connor helped supply her plate full of food.

Nines was busy giving Sumo attention, but he made his way to the table by the time Gavin was about to sit down.

"Oh! Look!" Tina exclaimed and both Gavin and Nines froze in their movements to look at her. She pointed up at the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling above their heads, precariously taped to the ceiling.

RK900 looked up at it, "That wasn't there earlier."

"So," Tina shrugged, "it's there now. You have to kiss. That's the rule."

Hank rolled his eyes, "Don't make me throw up."

Connor watched the scene from the kitchen counter where he prepared a bowl of food for Sumo. He was able to keep a straight face in pretending he wasn't involved in this in any way.

"God, what are you both like five?" Gavin shook his head and moved to sit down.

Stacy jumped in, "But it's bad luck if you don't."

Nines raised a brow and looked over at his human. He didn't believe in bad luck or superstitions, but he was enjoying celebrating the holiday and all its traditions.

"Jesus fuckin'-" Gavin's patience was gone. He suddenly turned and planted a chaste kiss to Nines' lips. "There," He said to Tina as he finally sat down, "are you fucking happy now?"

"Yes." Tina smiled and exchanged a look with Stacy.

Nines' LED stuttered a moment in reaction to the kiss, but then returned to a neutral expression, sitting beside Gavin. Connor joined them at the table and they were all accounted for. Even though the androids didn't eat, they liked sharing the time with their humans and tried to fit in by sipping glasses of thirium while their humans had their glasses of alcohol.

"I've been discovering that holiday traditions vary a little in humans from family to family," Connor conversed while the humans ate. "Tina, does your family have any unique traditions?"

Tina swallowed a large helping of mashed potatoes before answering, "I don't know about unique, but we usually open our presents on Christmas Day at midnight, right on the dot."

"Interesting," Connor grinned, although anything she said would have probably been interesting to him. "What about you, Gavin?"

Gavin frowned as all eyes were suddenly on him. He shook his head and was going to leave it at that, but then someone kicked him under the table. It wasn't hard to tell who when Nines was staring at him pointedly. They had a silent argument for a few moments, comprised purely of looks, until Gavin finally relented.

"My mom use to bake cookies on Christmas morning and we'd eat them for breakfast."

It was a surprise that Hank was the first to reply, "That sounds nice acutally."

"It was," He was quiet, which wasn't much like Gavin.

"Don't be fooled," Tina said between a sip of wine, "Gav's a softie for Christmas deep down. He just doesn't show it."

"I am not," Gavin lied, but Tina was right. She had known him for so long that she'd seen through the bah humbug act he put on. It was no secret to his friends that he put up a grumpy, tough exterior to hide his true emotions.

"Liar!" Tina pointed at him with her fork, "Nines, I'm sorry to break it to you, but your husband is a liar."

In unison, Gavin and Nines respectively replied, "I'm not his husband!" "He's not my husband."

"Yet!" Apparently the wine had already kicked in for her. "I'm placing bets on it now. You two are going to be engaged within the next twelve months."

Gavin blushed and gave a sheepish glance up at Nines.

Connor piped in, "I give it six."

"I'm guessing eight," Stacey included.

Hank raised his hands, "Whoa, whoa. Hold on. It's not fair to start placing bets on them with them right here. After they leave, _then_ we can talk about it."

Gavin furrowed his brows, "Wait, don't tell me you have a say in this too?"

"Maybe I do. But I'm not going to tell you because then that wouldn't be fair for the betting pool."

"Un-fucking-believable," Gavin groaned.

Nines finally spoke up, "Your claims are rather presumptuous about our relationship and I don't appreciate it."

"Yes, thank you. Someone who fucking agrees with me."

"Oh come on," Tina whined. "You can't tell me two haven't thought about it already."

Gavin blinked. Nines' LED switched to yellow in thought.

Hank came in to save them both, "Stacy, uh, why don't you tell everyone about that guy you saw at the station the other day."

"The one that was covered in Christmas garments?"

Gavin was relieved for the change of subject, but his stomach still twisted uncomfortably. Him and Nines hadn't been together _that_ long. Not even a year yet. It seemed a little fast for everyone to already assume they were going to take the next step to commitment.

He stiffened when he felt Nines' place his hand on his thigh, unsure why he had made the decision to interact with him. After some contemplation, he reached his hand down under the table to join Nines', lacing their fingers together.

\--

"Should we open the presents next?" Connor asked no one in particular as they finished clearing the plates from the table.

"No, not yet," Tina protested. "We should listen to some Christmas music!"

Hank didn't hold back his groan of displeasure, "I've heard enough Christmas music in my lifetime, thank you very fucking much."

"No, no. Come on, it will be fun!"

Connor lead Tina to Hank's old stereo and they picked out some music anyway.

Gavin flopped down on the living room couch like he owned the place. Hank flopped down in his reclining chair because he did actually own the place. Nines tentatively sat next to Gavin.

Finally, Tina and Connor settled on a song to play.

Gavin's eyes widened in horror with the familiar opening notes and jingles of the song.

              _I don't want a lot for Christmas_

_There's just one thing I need_

"No. Tina, no! Turn that off right now!"

              _I don't care about the presents_

_Underneath the Christmas tree_

"Tina!" Of all the Christmas songs he's heard hundreds of times, of course Tina chose Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas Is You."

She just gave a mischievous grin and pulled Stacy over to prepare to dance with her once the beat kicked up. "Aw, come on, Gav. I thought you _loved_ this song!"

              _I just want you for my own_

_More than you could ever know_

Gavin groaned, trying to tune it all out.

_Make my wish come true_

"Sing it, Gav!"

"No!"

" _All I want for Christmas... is you!_ " Tina sang along dramatically and was definitely tipsy enough not to give a single fuck that no one else had sung the lyrics with her.

Once the song kicked in, Tina began dancing with Stacy and continued singing along. But then they spilt off from each other.

Tina grabbed onto Gavin to lead him to dance with her, but Gavin refused to budge an inch from the couch.

"Not doing it, Tina!"

"Your loss, dickhead!" Tina went to dance with Connor instead.

Stacy went up to Nines, taking his hands in her own. With little resistance, he rose off the couch and began dancing with his friend.

The three androids and Tina danced together carelessly in front of the tree while Gavin and Hank were plastered to their seats.

"Bunch of saps they all are," Hank sighed, slowly shaking his head.

"Yeah. How the hell did we end up with 'em?" Gavin took a sip of his beer, impervious to that Tina was currently whispering plans to Connor and then Stacy.

Before Gavin knew what was happening, Connor and Stacy danced over to him, each taking an arm, hoisting him off the couch and flinging him to Nines. Gavin stumbled, yet of course Nines' caught him before he could fall, and _of fucking course_ it was timed out so that when Nines caught the confused Gavin, the lyrics landed on:

              _Oh baby, all I want for Christmas is you_

Gavin's cheeks tinted with color. He tried to shrug himself off the android, but it was too late. RK900's arm snaked around him and he was locked into dancing—mostly swaying—with android.

As the song continued, Connor encouraged Hank to join them.

"Con, I don't dance."

"Come on! It's fun!"

"Connor..."

"At least stand with us."

With a defeated sigh, Hank rose to his feet and stood as he watched the group dance like drunken fools in his living room. Connor could see him slightly swaying and tapping his foot to the beat and that was good enough for him.

When the song ended and the next one started to play, ("Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree") Gavin relaxed into Nines arms and wasn't totally hating this, especially when he saw that sparkle of fondness for him in Nines' grey-blue eyes.

"Nines..."

"Hm?"

"About yesterday... I'm sorry, alright. I didn't mean to upset you. I just get tired of you leaving me out of shit like that. I don't always need you protecting me."

"But you're far more fragile than I am. If you get hurt-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know, tin can. Save me the lecture. I'm mortal and all that crap, but I've survived this long without your help. Just... try to be more like my partner instead of my protector, okay? Then I'll actually listen to you more."

Nines LED cycled to yellow, but then quickly settled on a calm blue. "Okay, Gavin. Although I don't think there is anything I can do to get you to listen to me." The smile tugging at his lips told Gavin he was joking.

"You knew what you signed up for," Gavin grinned.

"That I did." Nines held him closer and reached down to give him a loving kiss.

While dancing, Tina stole a glance at them and began frantically nudging Stacy, "Our plan worked! Those two idiots are making up."

"More like making out," Stacy giggled quietly.

Tina gasped in pure shocked delight, "My beautiful Stacy just made a wonderful joke! This Christmas is officially the good kush."

\--

For the gift exchange, they were only going to open gifts that were from those they weren't going to be seeing on Christmas morning. This meant Hank and Connor would exchange their personal gifts to each other tomorrow and the same for Stacy and Tina, and Gavin and Nines.

They opened each gift, one by one. Connor would take a present from the tree and pass it to the appropriate recipient.

Sumo came over to sound of crinkling of paper and played with the discarded remnants, tearing the wrapping paper apart further.

Hank was apparently on a sock-gift-giving kick this year—not that anyone was complaining—as that's what everyone received from him. They were all thoughtfully picked out. Gavin and Nines each received a pair cat socks. Both pairs had the same cat faces on them but Gavin's were black and Nines were white. Tina burst into laughter when she received a pair of avocado socks and discovered that they said "Fre Sh a Voca Do" across the top hems. Hank gave Stacy a pair of socks with fish on them. One of the first deviant things she did after the android revolution was rescue and nurse back to health a handful of sick fish from a pet shop that went out of business. She was grateful that Hank remembered.

Connor could assume that he too would receive some socks from Hank on Christmas Day (and he did, and of course they had dogs on them.)

Tina and Nines exchanged gifts and surprisingly both got each other something meme related. Gavin thought Tina was going to cry when she held up a shirt that read "THIS BITCH EMPTY" on the front and "YEET" on the back. Tina gave Nines a mug for thirium that read, "BIG DICK ENERGY." No one could argue that it wasn't fitting for Nines.

Sumo got some dog toys from Stacy and Nines. He was more than happy to play with them along side the wrapping paper until he tired himself out.

The exchange was filled with laughter and good feeling as everyone gave and received gifts. Tina brought up how they should do a white elephant gift exchange next year, to which Hank and Gavin were 100% on board with.

The warm crackling of the fireplace added to the holiday mood. The stress of their jobs and any other troubles melted away for a while. It was nice, peaceful. Something they didn't usually get to share together.

As the night began winding down, Tina, Stacy, Nines, and Gavin exchanged their goodbyes before heading for home.

Connor picked up the discarded paper Sumo played with off the floor to be disposed of. Hank let a loud yawn and tried not to fall asleep on the couch.

"Did this little Christmas get-together meet your expectations, Con?"

"No, Hank." Connor then smiled, "It exceeded them."

"Really?"

"Obviously. I was expecting one major disaster to occur, but it all went very smoothly."

Hank couldn't help but laugh, "Do you always expect the worse?"

"Not as much anymore. Merry Christmas, Hank."

"Merry Christmas, Con." 

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!


End file.
